Freedom From Religion : A Fearless Young Woman Takes a Stand

[JNathanK]

44. I have a problem with these cases, because it just gives fuel to the right.

When they try to get public Christmas displays and banners like this removed, it just gives right wingers more Ammo to ramble on about how public schools are evil and Godless and how we should scrap the department of education, etc etc.

The mean things they said about her weren't right, but I think these are unnecessary battles. Personally, I think if they're gonna have Christian stuff, they should have stuff from other religions too. If they allowed a certain level of religious expression in school and allowed an equal forum for all students, it would still fit in with the provisions of the establishment clause.

The public school system, tied to congressional decisions, wouldn't be doing anything to respect an establishment of religion or the free exercise thereof if everyone was allowed an equal voice in the school, whether ir be Christians, Muslims, Jews, Pagans, etc etc. I think it would be good, because it would facilitate an environment in which differences are openly acknowledged and explored for students.

I think some people get off on persecution complexes too. This is probably going to make her very unpopular at the school, and she'll probably just wine, "Oh poor little ol' me. boohoo". People who get very assertive about their beliefs and wear it as their identity 24/7 can be really overbearing in this way. I've seen it in Christians, as well as atheists. No ideology is immune to this behavior. Of course, Free Thought Radio will probably explain how they're getting persecuted for their views and what a shame it is. I've listened to that show before, and it can really turn into a self righteous pitty party in a heart beat. Then, on Christian radio, they'll talk about how they're being persecuted by the secularist, liberal agenda. It gets to be exceedingly pathetic.